


By Choice

by MelyndaR



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 02:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13894707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelyndaR/pseuds/MelyndaR
Summary: “Mr. Vance,” Leroy Jethro Gibbs said shortly into the phone. “We don’t take on teenagers. You should know that by now!”That, as it turned out, was not true in the end, and as his life continued on, Jethro had never been so glad.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the adoption/foster care AU that absolutely no one asked for, but had apparently never been written, so I just had to give it a shot.

“ _Mr. Vance_ ,” Leroy Jethro Gibbs said shortly into the phone. “We don’t take on teenagers. You should know that by now!”

“In all fairness, Officer Gibbs,” the social worker replied, his tone so even Jethro could’ve sworn he was bored. “I haven’t placed a child with you in nearly two years.”

“All the more reason not to upset the family we have right now,” he pointed out. “I have two young boys and a toddler here, and you want me to bring in a teenager with who knows what issues?”

“Can you please at least discuss it with your missus?”

“Why should I?”

There was a sigh from the other end of the phone. “Gibbs,” and _there_ was the change in tone that meant that Jethro was about to get the whole story – or at least the reason why Vance had offered him and Jenny a new foster child after all this time. “This girl should’ve been placed in the system long before she was. She’s only been in the system a year, but before that she lived on the street for a decade with a drug-addled mom. It’s a tragedy we didn’t hear about her until last year, but frankly she seems more bothered by what happened _after_ she was placed with her first – and only other – family.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Vance sighed. “I had a family who said they actually _wanted_ an older child – I think now, with it being their first placement too, they thought it would be easier somehow – so I placed Kate with them. It seemed to be a great fit. Four months in, they even decided they wanted to adopt her. She was over the moon, so happy to have somewhere to be safe and wanted. Then the foster parents started in on the adoption, realized how much it entailed, and backed out, even decided they didn’t want to so much as foster her anymore. They want her out, and they want her out now. She thought she was safe, and now she’s not, and she seems scared and distrustful, but like she’s still a little desperate to find that place that’s going to love her – just like every kid I work with wants.

You know I try not to let my cases fall through the cracks, but I’m honestly at a loss as to who exactly to trust with this girl. Then it occurred to me that you and Jenny seem to have a habit of being a last stop for the kids that you’ve gotten so far.”

“Not a great feat considering we’ve only had the boys for a couple of years.”

“And I’m willing to bet that you can do it for this girl for a couple more years.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence that I never asked for, and care very little for.”

He heard Vance huff out another breath and bit back a grim smile. He didn’t mean to be difficult, it was just that he – and at times Jenny – had ways of going about things… and sometimes those ways went against the system that Vance so championed. “Can you please just talk to your wife about her?”

Jethro hesitated a moment before deciding that talking, at least, couldn’t hurt. “Fine.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

“In the scope of things…” Jenny said slowly as they sat across from one another at their kitchen table. “It doesn’t sound like she has a terrible lot of issues…”

“Did you miss the part where I said she had lived on the street with a drug addict for ten years?” Jethro asked, gripping his whiskey a little tighter in the muted light and silence of “after the kids are in bed.”

“No,” Jenny drew in a shallow breath, thinking through her words as she spoke slowly. “There is that, as I’m very aware, but it also seems like she really wants to find a place to belong and be loved –”

“—According to Vance—”

“—Who is not as bad as you like to pretend. My _point_ ,” Jenny gave him a soft, if slightly exasperated look. “Though, is that whether or not you like to admit it, you fall hard and fast for the kids that we take in. You have a big heart, Jethro, and it’s just what you do.”

“None of that changes the fact that we said we’d never take in teenagers, Jen.”

“Well, maybe we should reconsider,” Jenny said thoughtfully. “Or at least just agree to meet this girl?”

There was a question in her tone, but Jethro could tell that she had all but already made up her mind. She, at least, was being openminded, and she wanted to do as she’d said; she wanted to meet this girl. Far be it from Jethro to understand why – usually he _was_ the one more ruled by his emotions than her – but the “norm” didn’t change the facts for the “now.”

“Okay,” he loosened his grip on his glass, moving one hand to cover hers. “If you really want to meet her, we can meet her, but _no promises_.”

Jenny smiled sweetly, but Jethro saw the glint that meant that she thought she knew more than he did. “Of course, Jethro. Just meeting. No promises.”

* * *

They had decided not to tell the kids yet, just in case there wasn’t anything to tell them after all in the end. Jenny had put it that way – the lawyer who knew exactly what words to use to get across exactly the point that she wanted people to understand – and Jethro had ignored the meaning the words had. She thought they were going to take this girl in, and Jethro wasn’t really willing to push the point when it wasn’t going to matter in the long run.

That morning, they took care of the kids like they did every other day – Jenny took their adopted three-year-old daughter Abby to daycare while Jethro took their foster sons, nine-year-old Tony and seven-year-old Timmy, to the bus stop. Then both adults went to work. The only difference was that they had managed to get away from work early that day to go to a meeting with Mr. Vance and Kate.

“Stop smiling,” Jethro ordered his wife gruffly as they met in front of the café where they’d agreed to meet.

She smiled, taking his hand and giving him a quick kiss before they stepped into the restaurant. “Okay, honey.”

_She thought she knew how this was going to go down; she didn’t._

Mr. Vance was waiting in the back booth – not Jethro’s usual seat, but he didn’t mind in this case – with his back to the entrance. Which meant that Jethro would be able to face the entrance, which he appreciated as a man who had, for the greater half of his life, been an active duty Marine sniper.

Sitting beside Vance was a willowy brunette.

Jenny led the charge as they approached the booth even though she kept their hands firmly intertwined. Presenting a loving couple to the world and to Kate, which was what they were, so that was fine. He still couldn’t decide how he felt about this meet, since he still didn’t think it was going to go anywhere. But far be it from him to deny a stubborn Jenny anything.

He reached out to shake hands with Vance.

“Hello, Office Gibbs, Mrs. Shephard. This is Caitlin Todd. Caitlin, this is Officer Gibbs and his wife, Mrs. Shepherd.”

“Call me Kate.” She shook their hands politely, smiled thinly at all the right times – but at her first words, there was a command buried in her tone and eyes that gave Jethro a very distinct impression of who she was.

He had served his country for twenty years, and then he’d returned home to his wife to become a beat cop. He’d seen many expressions like the one she wore. She wasn’t sick of “the system,” like Tony had been by the time he came to them, nor was she scared and unsure because it was all so _new_ , like Timmy had been. _She_ was a “street rat” who didn’t need them. But Jethro had heard Vance; Kate _wanted_ a family to love her whether or not she would admit it.

Though warning bells went off in his head, he found himself wanting to help her. He wanted to take her home with him.

Internally, he swore, ceding to himself, _Jenny’s right. Of course._


	2. Chapter 2

“Excuse us for a second, okay, Caitlin?” The social worker stood from the table, and so did the couple who’d been sitting across from them.

Jethro knew what was coming next – the obvious question he and Jen needed to answer – and when his wife caught his eye, it surprised even him with how easily his answering nod came. Jenny grinned at him, then turned that smile onto Caitlin as she said, “Actually, if you’d like, you could go get your bag from the car. Since I assume Mr. Vance already thought that far ahead and had you bring it with you?”

Mr. Vance smiled tellingly at Jethro and Jenny, proud of himself in a way that Jethro would’ve rolled his eyes at… had it not been slightly justified.

“Oh. Okay. Sure.” Kate seemed momentarily caught off-guard, but she smoothed her expression quickly, and well enough. She slipped out of the booth, and Jethro watched her go as Jenny ironed out details regarding when they should come to the social worker’s office to sign the necessary paperwork.

 _Paperwork._ There was horrible, despised paperwork to deal with, of course. Jethro found himself hoping against the instinct of his gut that paperwork was the worst thing they were going to have to deal with when it came to Caitlin Todd.

* * *

“Is there anything else we should know about you, Kate?” Jenny asked pleasantly as they drove home.

A weird question, Jethro thought, considering that they were welcoming this girl into their home –and for the next two years, at that, according to Vance. But then, he and Jen had kind of signed up for weird when they’d gotten Abby – they’d figured that much out about their daughter already – let alone when they’d opened their home up to foster kids afterwards. Parenting Abby, Timmy, and Tony meant that “weird” was par for the course; Kate… just felt like the start of something different, something bigger.

Only he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that something bigger was going to be. Not when it was a big enough deal to let a stranger into his home directly after promising to take care of her. Not after… well, after maybe falling a little bit in love with whoever this girl was with steel in her spine and disinterest and distrust both in her eyes.

“No, not that I can think of,” Kate answered casually. She was pretending to stare out the window while she watched Jethro and Jen through their reflections on the window.

“Are you religious?” Jen asked, still trying to make conversation. She was good like that.

“Technically speaking, I guess you could say I’m Catholic, I just don’t make a real habit of going to mass.”

“You haven’t had enough of a routine recently, I take it?”

Kate’s eyes met Jenny’s properly this time, just for a second – checking for pity, probably. “Yeah, not really.”

“Well, I promise we’re going to do our best to get you one now. We have a three-year-old daughter, and seven- and nine-year old sons, and both Jethro and I work. Routine – as much as we can manage one – helps to keep us at least a little sane.”

“Three, seven, and nine,” Kate raised her eyebrows. “And yet you take me? Why?”

“Because your social worker asked nicely,” Jethro broke in. “Funny how that works, isn’t it? Be nice to people, and they’ll be nice to you.”

Kate glared at him, not taking too kindly to the suggestion buried in his words, but the next minute, she took a breath, let it out slowly. She looked suddenly softer, and somehow less – and more – wounded as she said shortly, “Sorry. I am… grateful to have somewhere to go. It’s been a long day, but I’ll… I’ll straighten up, don’t worry.”

There was a layer or two of psychological something or another buried in that answer, but now wasn’t the time to dissect it. Now was the time to go pick up his _other_ three kids. “Flying straight would be nice of you, I won’t argue with that, but mostly we just need you to _try_ , and to not… feed our other kids the negativity I know you’re already working on shedding.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked him.

 _Okay, psychological layers here they came._ “You tried really hard to behave for the family before us, you must have, and that can take a lot for a kid who’s lived on the streets for a decade. So, that means, way I figure it, you’re actively trying to move past whatever life you lived on the streets, right?”

She stared at him for a beat in surprise before she sighed again. “That’s one way to put it, I guess.”

“So… I’m right? You do just want to live a normal life.”

She went back to looking out the window, but he caught no signs of insincerity as she answered, “I’d like to try.”

“Then how about we just aim for that? You, me, Jen, and Abby, Tony, and Timmy. Let’s aim for normal and see how close we can get. Sound good?”

“Sounds great.”

“Good to know, because we’re about five minutes from picking the boys up at school.”

Kate smiled thinly, but the only thing Jethro could think was that, for her own sake, he already couldn’t wait for the nervousness to leave her eyes.

* * *

So maybe _not_ telling the boys wasn’t the best way to go about this, come to think of it, now that they were here and actually hauling an unexpected sister onto their school grounds. Tony and Timmy both came running towards the car when Jen waved at them, but they also both slowed back down to a walk when they realized that there was an unidentified third party in the car.

“Come on, guys,” Jethro waved them closer, calling past Jen’s shoulder, “Climb on in back; we’ve still got to go pick up your sister from daycare.”

Tony opened the back door, stared unabashedly at Kate, who smiled, bright and kind, at him from where she was sitting in between the boys’ two car seats. “I promise I don’t bite.” Tony and Timmy got in their seats, and Kate introduced herself to them, talking politely, maturely – as if she was an adult herself – as Jethro pulled away from the school.

 _For someone who had been so sharp and self-assured back at the diner, she was being perfectly wonderful with the boys._ “You,” he told Kate with his own air of self-assurance. “Are going to love Abby.”


End file.
